Off the Record: Protecting the public's right to know

Public officials who have something to hide cringe when they hear the term FOIA, especially in our state. In fact, the officials, themselves, often go into hiding when Big Daddy FOIA comes calling.

That’s what the infamous EX-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick did when the Detroit Free Press put FOIA to work in exposing his scandalous, criminal activities. He tried to cover up his dirty laundry, but even the almighty King Kwame (in his mind) wound up facing 10 felony charges, eventually pleading guilty to only two of them. Unfortunately, he ended up with a slap on the wrist, in my opinion. At least he’s “outta there” as mayor and hopefully will never be heard from again (unless he’s the defendant in another criminal case).

In case you don’t know, FOIA stands for Freedom of Information Act. The law in Michigan, coupled with the Open Meetings Act, is a very effective tool in opening public doors in our state. Michigan’s version of the two laws is among the toughest in the nation.

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You have to go back to the days of former Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelly to get to the root of FOIA. He was a staunch advocate, and believe me he followed it to the “letter of the law.” For years, he teamed up with the Michigan Press Association (MPA) in making sure public bodies throughout the state didn’t step out of line attempting to do business in secret behind closed doors.

Today in Michigan, MPA attorney Dawn Hertz is generally considered the leading expert in FOIA and the Open meetings Act. She should be. She has been involved in literally hundreds of cases representing MPA as well as individual newspapers throughout the state.

I know that for a fact because she represented my former newspaper, the Gaylord Herald Times, in a number of cases during my 40-year stint there. As a publisher with a newsman’s mentality, my driving force was the public’s right to know. Over the years, in cases we suspected violated the public’s right to know, we took on the county, city, schools, townships and prosecutor when they tried to withhold information or operate in secret behind closed doors.

Because of my FOIA passion, a recent article in my favorite newspaper about vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin intrigued me. Our former editor in Gaylord, Vicki Naegele (1988-94), was featured in a recent interview about her experience with Palin. Naegele served as managing editor of The Frontiersman in Wasilla, Alaska, the small town where Palin served on the city council and later as mayor.

In the first place, according to Naegele, Palin was swept into the mayor’s office due mainly to strong support from the National Rifle Association and Republican Party. That’s significant because it was a nonpartisan election. As Naegele commented: “The people of Wasilla had never seen a race like that. Things that really had nothing to do with being mayor crept into — and were a deciding factor — in that election.”

Naegele recalled that right after Palin took office she had lunch with the newspaper’s reporters and even bought them flowers. However, the smell of flowers quickly dissipated, according to the editor.

Shortly after “lunch and roses,” Palin used her new found political power to get rid of several city employees because, as Naegele put it, “she didn’t feel like she had their support.”

Naegele’s newspaper took a strong stance against Palin’s strong arm tactics because the mayor did not provide a solid explanation for her decision. The mayor, in turn, instituted a gag order against The Frontiersman, which dictated that no city department head was allowed to give out information to the press without her permission (not a good sign). However, Naegele noted that over a period of time things calmed down at Wasilla City Hall.

The Herald Times asked Naegele how she thought all this might play out on the national level or was it simply a short-term local issue that happened a long time ago: “It’s just a narrow piece of the whole pie. I hope she’s learned from this experience. Whether that’s going to show what kind of vice president she’d make, I wouldn’t stretch it too far. Everyone grows, and I trust she has, too.”

Let’s all hope Palin’s retaliatory practice doesn’t carry over to Washington, if she lands there. She won’t be dealing with just a small-town newspaper in that place. Can you imagine what would happen if she put a gag order out against the Washington press corps? Ouch!

Vicki having “graduated” from the Grisso school of the public’s right to know, it’s no surprise to me she didn’t back down to a bouquet of flowers. I know this, also. She would not have hesitated to bring out the FOIA artillery if there was an indication Palin had violated the law.

The Alaska governor may have stopped “the bridge to nowhere,” is a true hockey mom who screams at the refs, and is an expert marksman who can the shoot the eyes out of toad at 100 yards. However, these “qualifications” to be vice president of the United States do not exempt her from honoring and adhering to the public’s right to know.

If she is elected vice president and adheres to these principles (also known as laws) everything will be just fine in the world of FOIA.

— Jim Grisso is publisher emeritus of the Gaylord Herald Times. You may reach him by writing to P.O. Box 598, Gaylord, MI 49734 or by e-mail, jim@gaylordheraldtimes.com